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Switzerland ranks 1st among the 39 economies in Europe. 1st

SWITZERLAND

The Global Innovation Index (GII) ranks world economies according to their innovation capabilities.

Consisting of roughly 80 indicators, grouped into innovation inputs and outputs, the GII aims to capture

the multi-dimensional facets of innovation.

The following table shows the rankings of Switzerland over the past three years, noting that data availability

and changes to the GII model framework influence year-on-year comparisons of the GII rankings.

Rankings of Switzerland (2018–2020)

GII Innovation inputs Innovation outputs

2020 1 2 1

2019 1 2 1

2018 1 2 1

Switzerland performs better in innovation outputs than innovation inputs in 2020.

This year Switzerland ranks 2nd in innovation inputs, the same as last year and 2018.

As for innovation outputs, Switzerland ranks 1st. This position is the same as last year and 2018.

Switzerland ranks 1st among the 49 high-income group economies. 1st

Switzerland ranks 1st among the 131 economies featured in the GII 2020.

1st

1st

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Switzerland remains the world leader in innovation for a tenth consecutive year. It displays a strong and solid

performance across all GII seven areas, and ranks among the top 3 in 19 out of the 80 indicators that compose

the GII.

A consistent producer of high-quality innovations, it also excels in the innovativeness of its business sector,

with a strong share of knowledge-intensive employment and high R&D expenditures performed and financed

by the private sector.

Switzerland consistently ranks among the top 3 in Patents by origin, PCT patents by origin, Scientific and

technical articles, High-technology manufacturing, Intellectual property (IP) receipts, Entertainment and media

market, and Country-code top-level domains. Host to 122 of the world’s top 5,000 brands, this year Switzerland

ranks 2nd in the new GII indicator, Global brand value. Its top brands include Nestlé (food), UBS (banks) and

ABB (engineering and construction).

Its human capital and research systems also register important results. Switzerland ranks 4th in R&D

expenditures, 5th in R&D-intensive global companies and 4th in the Quality of universities, with ETH Zurich

(Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) among the top

20 highest ranked universities in the world.

Switzerland ranks 2nd after the United States of America (U.S.) in its quality of innovation, thanks to the high-

quality of its universities and scientific publications, but also – and especially – thanks to the great efforts it

makes to internationalize its inventions, ranking 1st globally in Patent families in two or more offices.

Other indicators where Switzerland achieves a top 3 ranking are found across various GII areas that include

Government effectiveness, Environmental performance, Domestic credit to private sector, Market

capitalization and ICT services imports. The country also shows a particularly well connected innovation

ecosystem, ranking 2nd in University–industry collaborations and 5th in Cluster development, with Zurich

(49th) and Lausanne (89th) among the world’s top 100 science and technology clusters.

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EXPECTED VS. OBSERVED INNOVATION PERFORMANCE

The bubble chart below shows the relationship between income levels (GDP per capita) and innovation

performance (GII score). The trend line gives an indication of the expected innovation performance according

to income level. Economies appearing above the trend line are performing better than expected and those

below are performing below expectations.

Relative to GDP, Switzerland’s is performance is above expectations for its level of development.

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EFFECTIVELY TRANSLATING INNOVATION INVESTMENTS INTO INNOVATION OUTPUTS

The chart below shows the relationship between innovation inputs and innovation outputs. Economies above

the line are effectively translating costly innovation investments into more and higher-quality outputs.

Switzerland produces more innovation outputs relative to its level of innovation investments.

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BENCHMARKING SWITZERLAND AGAINST OTHER HIGH-INCOME

ECONOMIES AND EUROPE

Switzerland’s scores in the seven GII pillars

Switzerland has high scores in all seven GII pillars above average for the high-income group.

Compared to other economies in Europe, Switzerland performs above average in all seven GII pillars.

OVERVIEW OF SWITZERLAND RANKINGS IN THE SEVEN GII AREAS

Switzerland performs the best in Knowledge & technology outputs and its weakest performance is in

Institutions.

*The highest possible ranking in each pillar is 1.

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INNOVATION STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

The table below gives an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of Switzerland in the GII 2020.

Strengths

Code Indicator name Rank

1.1 Political environment 2 1.1.2 Government effectiveness* 2 1.2.2 Rule of law* 3 3 Infrastructure 3 3.1.2 ICT use* 3 3.3 Ecological sustainability 2 3.3.2 Environmental performance* 3 4.1.2 Domestic credit to private sector, % GDP 3 4.2.2 Market capitalization, % GDP 1 5 Business sophistication 2 5.1.1 Knowledge-intensive employment, % 3 5.2.1 University/industry research collaboration† 2 5.2.5 Patent families 2+ offices/bn PPP$ GDP 1 5.3.3 ICT services imports, % total trade 3 6 Knowledge & technology outputs 1 6.1 Knowledge creation 1 6.1.1 Patents by origin/bn PPP$ GDP 1 6.1.2 PCT patents by origin/bn PPP$ GDP 3 6.1.4 Scientific & technical articles/bn PPP$ GDP 3 6.2.3 Computer software spending, % GDP 3 6.2.5 High- & medium-high-tech manufacturing, % 3 6.3.1 Intellectual property receipts, % total trade 1 7 Creative outputs 2 7.1 Intangible assets 3 7.1.2 Global brand value, top 5000, % GDP 2 7.2 Creative goods and services 3 7.2.3 Entertainment & Media market/th pop. 15–69 1 7.3.2 Country-code TLDs/th pop. 15–69 1

Weaknesses

Code Indicator name Rank

1.3 Business environment 47 1.3.1 Ease of starting a business* 66 2.2.1 Tertiary enrolment, % gross 48 2.2.2 Graduates in science & engineering, % 38 3.2.3 Gross capital formation, % GDP 67 4.1.1 Ease of getting credit* 61 4.2.1 Ease of protecting minority investors* 92 4.3.1 Applied tariff rate, weighted avg., % 50 5.3.2 High-tech imports, % total trade 87 6.2.1 Growth rate of PPP$ GDP/worker, % 67 7.2.4 Printing & other media, % manufacturing 36

NOTES: * indicates an index; † indicates a survey question.

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STRENGTHS

GII strengths for Switzerland are found in six of the seven GII pillars, mostly on the output side of the GII.

Institutions (13): exhibits strengths in the sub-pillar Political environment (2) and in the indicators Government

effectiveness (2) and Rule of law (3).

Infrastructure (3): demonstrates strengths in the sub-pillar Ecological sustainability (2) and in the indicators

ICT use (3) and Environmental performance (3).

Market sophistication (6): has strengths in the indicators Domestic credit to private sector (3) and Market

capitalization (1).

Business sophistication (2): displays strengths in four indicators: Knowledge-intensive employment (3),

University–industry research collaboration (2), Patent families in two or more offices (1) and ICT services

imports (3).

Knowledge & technology outputs (1): reveals strengths in the sub-pillar Knowledge creation (1) and in several

indicators: Patents by origin (1), PCT patents by origin (3), Scientific & technical articles (3), Computer

software spending (3), High- and medium-high-tech manufacturing (3) and Intellectual property receipts (1).

Creative outputs (2): has strengths in the sub-pillars Intangible assets (3) and Creative goods and services

(3), and in three indicators: Global brand value (2), Entertainment & Media market (1) and Country-code top-

level domains (1).

WEAKNESSES

GII weaknesses for Switzerland are scattered across all seven of the GII pillars.

Institutions (13): exhibits weaknesses in the sub-pillar Business environment (47) and in its indicator Ease of

starting a business (66).

Human capital & research (6): has weaknesses in the indicators Tertiary enrolment (48) and Graduates in

science & engineering (38).

Infrastructure (3): the indicator Gross capital formation (67) is a weakness.

Market sophistication (6): shows weaknesses in the indicators Ease of getting credit (61), Ease of protecting

minority investors (92) and Applied tariff rate (50).

Business sophistication (2): the indicator High-tech imports (87) is a weakness.

Knowledge & technology outputs (1): the indicator Productivity growth (67) is a weakness.

Creative outputs (2): the indicator Printing and other media (36) is a weakness.

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DATA AVAILABILITY

The following tables list data that are either missing or outdated for Switzerland.

Missing data

Code Indicator name Country

year

Model

year Source

4.1.3 Microfinance gross loans, % GDP n/a 2018 Microfinance Information Exchange 5.1.2 Firms offering formal training, % n/a 2018 World Bank

Outdated data

Code Indicator name Country

year

Model

year Source

2.1.1 Expenditure on education, % GDP 2016 2018 UNESCO Institute for Statistics 2.1.2 Government funding/pupil, secondary, %

GDP/cap 2015 2016 UNESCO Institute for Statistics

2.1.5 Pupil-teacher ratio, secondary 2017 2018 UNESCO Institute for Statistics 2.3.1 Researchers, FTE/mn pop. 2017 2018 UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Eurostat; OECD –

Main Science and Technology Indicators 2.3.2 Gross expenditure on R&D, % GDP 2017 2018 UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Eurostat; OECD –

Main Science and Technology Indicators 4.1.2 Domestic credit to private sector, % GDP 2016 2018 International Monetary Fund 5.1.3 GERD performed by business, % GDP 2017 2018 UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Eurostat; OECD –

Main Science and Technology Indicators 5.3.5 Research talent, % in business enterprise 2017 2018 UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Eurostat; OECD –

Main Science and Technology Indicators 7.2.4 Printing & other media, % manufacturing 2013 2017 United Nations Industrial Development

Organization

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WIPO FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

ABOUT THE GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX

The Global Innovation Index (GII) is co-published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual

Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations. In 2020, the GII presents its 13th

edition devoted to the theme Who Will Finance Innovation?

Recognizing that innovation is a key driver of economic development, the GII aims to provide an innovation

ranking and rich analysis referencing around 130 economies. Over the last decade, the GII has established

itself as both a leading reference on innovation and a “tool for action” for economies that incorporate the GII

into their innovation agendas.

The Index is a ranking of the innovation capabilities and results of world economies. It measures innovation

based on criteria that include institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, credit, investment,

linkages; the creation, absorption and diffusion of knowledge; and creative outputs.

The GII has two sub-indices: the Innovation Input Sub-Index and the Innovation Output Sub-Index, and seven

pillars, each consisting of three sub-pillars.